Young Ravens Lay Groundwork for Future

Published 8:00 pm, Sunday, December 29, 2002

The measure of success for most NFL teams is a winning record and a trip to the playoffs. The Baltimore Ravens did not achieve either this year.

The Ravens did, however, lay the groundwork for a bright future. For that reason, the players were decidedly upbeat as they cleared out their lockers Monday.

"We accomplished a lot this year, turned a lot of heads," rookie safety Will Demps said. "We did things no one thought we could do."

Despite fielding one of the youngest teams in NFL history _ courtesy of an unprecedented salary-cap purge _ the Ravens entered the final weekend of the season with a shot at reaching the playoffs.

This despite playing 11 games without five-time Pro Bowl linebacker Ray Lewis (shoulder injury); 10 games without quarterback Chris Redman (back); and 10 games without defensive end Michael McCrary (knee).

The Ravens finished 7-9, beating playoff-bound Cleveland and Tennessee and humbling previously unbeaten Denver in a Monday night game. Baltimore also lost to a pair of postseason entrants, Atlanta and Indianapolis, by a combined five points.

"It was a big roller coaster of good times and bad times," guard Edwin Mulitalo said. "Next year, we'll have a lot of young guys who will be a year older, a year wiser. That experience has got to help."

So fourth-year coach Brian Billick had no reason to be embarrassed about his first losing season, or for missing the playoffs for the first time since 1999.

"We are always going to be measured by wins and losses, but this season has been a special one, about the development of a team," Billick said. "This is an incredible group of young men, and I'm excited about them coming back as a whole."

Last offseason, the Ravens were forced to dump such stars as Shannon Sharpe, Rod Woodson, Sam Adams, Jamie Sharper and Rob Burnett. Many of the key contributors on defense this year were rookies: Demps, Ed Reed, Anthony Weaver, Maake Kemoeatu and Bart Scott.

They also saw highly regarded defensive coordinator Marvin Lewis leave for the Redskins.

"We now move onto another stage, and I'm excited about that," said Billick, who plans to retain his entire coaching staff. "Next year we're still going to be one of the youngest teams in the league. But it's a young team with experience."

Now that they've got some salary cap breathing room, Baltimore will strive to retain unrestricted free agents Chris McAlister and Mulitalo, and fill some glaring holes.

The decisions include what to do at quarterback. This was supposed to be the season Redman blossomed as a starter, but his development consisted of a mere six starts.

Redman, who will undergo back surgery next month, is expected to make a full recovery by training camp.

Jeff Blake performed capably in his place, but the veteran is an unrestricted free agent and has no intention of coming to camp next summer locked in a competition for the job.

"That's just not good for the team," he said, indicating he might not come back if Billick again decides to go with Redman as his starter. "I'm a free agent. That wouldn't make any sense. But I'm not going to close doors; I'll leave all my options open."

McAlister could be made the team's franchise player if a settlement is not reached, but the Ravens' best cornerback figures it won't come to that.

"I'll be back. I don't want to go anywhere," he said. "Look at what we did this season; the chemistry we have here is something to build on."

The feeling around the locker room is that the Ravens are on the verge of something big. That's why unrestricted free agent James Trapp hopes to return to the defensive backfield.

"I really want to be a part of this team," he said. "There's a great process going on here."

Step 1 is complete, and the Ravens fared much better than anticipated. Even though they lost their final two games, they could ultimately benefit from those defeats to Cleveland and Pittsburgh.

"The last two weeks we put ourselves in a playoff environment," Billick said, "and we are better for the experience."